Should I get an Alpine Club membership for the Tour du Mont Blanc?

The Tour du Mont Blanc travels through France, Switzerland and Italy.

If you are a member of one of the respective alpine clubs, you get discount on accommodation at their mountain huts. Unless you plan to stay exclusively in alpine club mountain huts, it is not usually worthwhile getting membership only for the hike. Here are the details on each alpine club membership:

FRENCH ALPINE CLUB MEMBERSHIP

The French Alpine Club has a membership program that provides discounts to their mountain huts. Membership is about 100 - 120€ and is open to non-French citizens. For full details click here. The huts along the Tour du Mont Blanc that are owned by the French Alpine Club include Albert Premier (1er), Refuge Croix du Bonhomme and Chalet Des Contamines.

Refuge Croix du Bonhomme

SWISS ALPINE CLUB MEMBERSHIP

The Swiss Alpine Club has a membership program that provides discounts to their mountain huts. Membership is from 80 CHF and is open to non-Swiss citizens. For full details click here. None of the huts along the Tour du Mont Blanc are owned by the Swiss Alpine Club.

ITALIAN ALPINE CLUB MEMBERSHIP

Rifugio Elisabetta

The Italian Alpine Club has a membership program that provides discounts to their mountain huts. Membership is from 45€ and is open to non-Italian citizens. For full details click here. The huts along the Tour du Mont Blanc that are owned by the Italian Alpine Club are Rifugio Elisabetta and Rifugio Monte Bianco (in Val Veny off the TMB trail)

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The Alta Via 1 Anytime Itinerary

Have you started planning your Alta Via 1 Dolomites hike in the usual 11 stages and finding fully booked locations for the dates you want?

You’re not alone!

Accommodation booking anxiety is experienced by most self-guided hikers that book their own accommodation…and a popular conversation topic on the trail :)

INTRODUCING THE “AV1 6 DAY ANYTIME” Itinerary

When accommodation availability becomes scarce, this 6-day itinerary can keep your Alta Via 1 dreams alive! Staying at villages and using transport provides you a much needed bed and allows you to hike 100km / 62mi along the Alta Via 1 route. You can opt to use just one, a few or all days to make your hike happen.

Average daily stats:

• Distance: 17km / 11mi

• Elevation gain: 950m / 3,100ft

• Time (steady pace): 6 hours, not including breaks

• Accommodation: Staying in villages that have the most accommodation options

This 6-day itinerary for the Alta Via 1 Dolomites gets around all of the Northern locations that are typically booked out…without needing to do any camping!

The Hiking Club has always championed self-guided hikers who want to stay in control of their itinerary and costs, by planning and booking their own trips. We have over 5 years of experience creating itineraries that are available to book at any time of the year. Our new trip planning app is the 3rd generation of our self-planning product that gives hikers the power to easily create an achievable, inspiring, and available-to-book itinerary in one session.

If you want some assistance in designing an itinerary that is ready for you to book based on your specific dates and requirements, we can do this via our Expert Access package.

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day 1: lago di braies to san vigilio

The first stage travels through the Fanes, Sennes, Braies Natural Park, with 4 rifugios to choose from (Biella, Sennes, Fodara Vedla and Pederu). Once these are booked up, hikers have two options to overcome fully booked locations here:

1. Continue hiking into Fanes section of Natural Park (Total 22km / 14mi) to reach 3 more accommodation options (Ucia dles Muntagnoles, Fanes, Lavarella)

2. Catch the bus to stay in San Vigilio for the night. It takes 20 minutes and has 20+ hotels, b&bs, holiday rentals and campgrounds for hikers to choose from. In the morning, catch the same bus back to the trailhead to continue your hike.

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day 2: san vigilio to san cassiano

One of the most popular rifugios on the AV1 is Rifugio Lagazuoi. It (and surrounding rifugios) often book out quickly for peak dates and therefore forces hikers to either hike a longer day to find accommodation or use public transport to reach a nearby village.

For those that can’t find accommodation along the trail at popular rifugios (including Lagazuoi, Scotoni, Valparola, Passo Giau), the best option is:

• Catch the bus from either Sciare or Passo Falzarego to San Cassiano for the night. There are 15+ hotels, b&bs and holiday rentals to choose from. In the morning, catch the same bus back to the trailhead to continue your hike.

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day 3: san cassiano to cortina

There are 6 rifugios in and around the Cinque Torri and Nuvolau area [Cinque Torri, Scoiattoli, Averau, Nuvolau, Fedare and Berghotel Passo Giau]. If these are all booked out on your dates, it is too far to continue on to Citta di Fiume, the next rifugio along the trail.

Therefore, the best options are:

• Finish your hike at Cianzope bus stop and catch the 20 minute bus into Cortina, where there is lots of accommodation to choose from.

• Finish you hike at Cianzope bus stop and catch 2 buses to San Cassiano, if you plan to stay there the previous night. Therefore you can hike today with just a daypack (luxury!).

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day 4: cortina to pescul

If you are unable to secure accommodation at Rifugio Citta di Fiume, Aquileia or Passo Staulanza, your options are:

• Continue hiking to Rifugio Palafavera (Total 27km / 17mi)

• Finish your day by taking an alternative trail to Pescul, a small town with 10+ hotel, b&b and holiday rentals to choose from.

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Day 5: Pescul to alleghe

If you are unable to secure accommodation to Rifugio Coldai, Tissi or Vazzoler, then you’ll need to find accommodation in Alleghe for the night:

• Catch the gondolas down to Alleghe, a small town with 10+ hotel, b&b and holiday rentals to choose from. In the morning, catch the gondolas back to the trailhead to continue your hike. If you are feeling energetic, you could walk this section, rather than take the gondola.

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day 6: alleghe to listolade

If you are unable to secure accommodation at Rifugio Carestiato, San Sebastiano or Passo Duran, then there are two options:

• Continue hiking to Rifugio Pramperet (Total 35km / 22mi)

• Finish you day (and your hike!) by taking an alternative route down to Listolade, a small village on the main road between Alleghe and Belluno. From here you can choose to catch a bus back to Alleghe, to Agordo for the closest accommodation, or all the way to Belluno, where you can stay or catch bus/train on to Venice or Cortina.

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optional day 7: passo duran to forno di zoldo

If you have been able to secure accommodation at one of the 3 rifugios near Passo Duran, including Rifugio Passo Duran, San Sebastiano, Carestiato, then you can continue your hike south. The next difficult spot to secure accommodation is Rifugio Pramperet, Malga di Pramperet and Rifugio Pian de Fontana. If you are unable to get a bed in one of these locations, you will need to:

• Finish your day by hiking an alternative route to Forno di Zoldo, a small town with 10+ hotels, b&bs, holiday rentals and campground to choose from. There is a shuttle bus to reduce the last stretch of this section

Many people that stay in Forno di Zoldo, choose to finish their hike here. Otherwise it is necessary to retrace all the way back to Rifugio Pramperet to continue on the main trail to the official finish point, La Pissa Bus Stop, or via Soffranco/Longarone on the alternative route.

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So there you have it. The “AV1 6 Day Anytime” itinerary for those booking in October, January, March or July. This itinerary can provide you accommodation options to make you Alta Via 1 journey a reality!

Oh and if you want the “AV1 6 Day Anytime” itinerary, it’s available in our itinerary library so all you need to do is buy a self-guided AV1 package and this itinerary can be loaded straight into your app for planning, booking, and navigating!

The Tour du Mont Blanc Anytime Itinerary

Have you started planning the Tour du Mont Blanc in the usual 11 stages and finding fully booked locations for the dates you want?

You’re not alone!

Accommodation booking anxiety is experienced by most self-guided hikers that book their own accommodation…and a popular conversation topic on the trail :)

introducing THE “TMB ANYTIME” ITINERARY

When accommodation availability becomes scarce, this 11-day itinerary will keep your TMB dreams alive! Staying at villages and using transport provides you a much needed bed.

Average daily stats:

• Distance: 16.5km / 10mi

• Elevation gain: 1,000m / 3,300ft

• Time (steady pace): 6 hours, not including breaks

• Accommodation: Staying in villages that have the most accommodation options

This 11-day itinerary for the Tour du Mont Blanc gets around all of the locations that are typically booked out…without needing to do any camping!

The Hiking Club has always championed self-guided hikers who want to stay in control of their itinerary and costs by planning and booking their own trips. We have over 5 years of experience creating itineraries for the Tour du Mont Blanc that are available to book at any time of the year. Our new trip planning app is the 3rd generation of our self-planning product that gives hikers the power to easily create an achievable, inspiring, and available-to-book itinerary in one session.

If you want some assistance in designing an itinerary that is ready for you to book based on your specific dates and requirements, we can do this via our Expert Access package.

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The “Tour du Mont Blanc Anytime” itinerary broken down stage-by-stage

Stage 1: Les houches to les contamines

Les Contamines-Montjoie has 6+ hotels/b&bs/refuges and a range of holiday rentals. Hikers rarely have trouble finding accommodation here due to the large number of beds relative to other stages of the trail.

What do you do if you can’t secure accommodation here?

The next best option is staying at the cabins at Le Pontet campground

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Stage 2: Les Contamines-Montjoie to Les Chapieux

Vallée des Chapieux, which includes Refuge de la Nova, Les Chambres du Soleil and Refuge des Mottets, is usually the first area of the trail to be fully booked. Although there are quite a few beds here, only about 20% are available for hikers booking their own trips, with tour companies putting holds on the rest.

You’ve got two options to overcome fully booked locations here;

1. Stay at the French alpine club hut Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme

2. Catch the bus (or arrange a taxi) to stay in Bourg Saint Maurice for the night. It takes about 25 mins to reach Bourg Saint Maurice, and there are many accommodation options here.

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Stage 3: Les Chapieux to La Visaille Bus stop

Val Veny in Italy, which includes Rifugio Elisabetta and Cabane Combal, is also an area of the trail where it becomes hard to find availability. The next closest accommodation option is actually in Courmayeur…via the direct bus, which departs from La Visaille and takes about 25 mins. We’ve added a little ‘Courmayeur basecamp’ accommodation location in La Visaille which highlights you’re planning to catch the bus to Courmayeur for the night.

The following day, return on the bus to La Visaille and rejoin the main Tour du Mont Blanc trail near Cabane Combal.

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Stage 4: La Visaille Bus stop to Courmayuer

Courmayeur has a huge amount of accommodation so finding availability isn’t usually a problem. You can use the bus network to reach properties further south if necessary.

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Stage 5: Courmayuer to Arp Nouva bus stop

Most hikers will stay a night between Rifugio Bonatti and Rifugio Elena, however, this area does become booked out. When it does, the next closest accommodation option (once again!) is Courmayeur…via the direct bus, which departs from Arp Nouva and takes about 25 mins. We’ve added a little ‘Courmayeur basecamp’ accommodation location in Arp Nouva, which highlights that you’re planning to catch the bus to Courmayeur for the night.

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Stage 6: Arp Nouva bus stop to La Fouly

There is usually a surplus of beds in La Fouly for two reasons;

1. There is 5+ accommodation options in the area

2. The next stage is a popular one for hikers to skip so some people don’t end up staying around here at all.

For these reasons, La Fouly is one of the last places I recommend people book.

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Stage 7: La Fouly to Champex Lac

There is a reasonable range of accommodation in Champex Lac, which is further boosted by additional properties in Champex Den Haut and Arpette, which are within reach for most hikers. It is a popular stand-alone destination for people to visit and stay at during the summer so can be fully booked, especially on Friday and Saturday nights.

What do you do if you can’t secure accommodation in this area?

The next best option is taking a ~20-minute bus to Orsières in the valley below, where there is a great hotel at the station and further transport links to find other accommodation nearby.

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Stage 8: Champex Lac to Trient

The Trient Valley, which includes Auberge la Grande Ourse, Auberge du Mont-Blanc, Refuge Le Peuty, and Hotel Col de la Forclaz, is an area of Mont Blanc where most Tour du Mont Blanc and Walker’s Haute Route hikers need to stay - making it hard to find availability.

What do you do if you can’t secure accommodation in this area?

1. Refuge Les Grands and Refuge Col de Balme are two locations typically within reach of strong hikers and provide idyllic locations to spend a night (note you need to bring your own food to cook at Refuge Les Grands).

2. An infrequent bus that takes ~10 mins runs from Trient to Le Châtelard-Frontière during July and August, where there is a hotel. The departure times to reach the hotel are okay in the afternoon; however, based on last year’s timetable, you won’t be able to reach Trient until about 10am the following day.

3. A bus that takes ~45mins to reach Martigny where there is a large range of accommodation. The bus runs about 5 times per day - allowing you to depart for Martigny a few times during the afternoon and return to Trient by about 8am the following day.

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Stage 9: Trient to Argentiere

Tre-le-Champ is the usual stop for hikers in this area of the trail with Gite le Moulin the typical alternative which also books out early.

Argentiere is the next location to look at with a couple of big hotels in the centre of town and various vacation rentals on the outskirts.

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Stage 10: Argentiere to Plan Praz (Chamonix)

Chamonix has a huge amount of accommodation so finding availability isn’t usually a problem. You can use the train or bus network to reach properties up and down the valley.

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Stage 11: Plan Praz (Chamonix) to Les Houches

Les Houches has 4 main accommodation options. However, 3 of them are not in the village center. Hikers can use the bus network to easily reach Chamonix or other locations with accommodation in the valley.

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So there you have it. The “TMB Anytime” itinerary for those booking in October, January, March of July. This itinerary will provide you accommodation options so you can make you Tour du Mont Blanc journey a reality!

Oh and if you want the “TMB Anytime” itinerary, it’s available in our itinerary library so all you need to do is buy a self-guided TMB package and this itinerary can be loaded straight into your app for planning, booking, and navigating!

Should I get an Alpine Club membership for the Tour of Monte Rosa?

The Tour of Monte Rosa travels through Switzerland and Italy.

If you are a member of one of the respective alpine clubs, you get discount on accommodation at their mountain huts. Unless you plan to stay exclusively in alpine club mountain huts, it is not usually worthwhile getting membership only for the hike. Here are the details on each alpine club membership:

Britanniahutte

SWISS ALPINE CLUB MEMBERSHIP

The Swiss Alpine Club has a membership program that provides discounts to their mountain huts. Membership is from 80 CHF and is open to non-Swiss citizens. For full details click here. The huts along the Tour of Monte Rosa that are owned by the Swiss Alpine Club include: Britanniahutte.

ITALIAN ALPINE CLUB MEMBERSHIP

The Italian Alpine Club has a membership program that provides discounts to their mountain huts. Membership is from 45€ and is open to non-Italian citizens. For full details click here. The huts along the Tour of Monte Rosa that are owned by the Italian Alpine Club include: Rifugio Teodulo, Rifugio Crespi-Calderini, Rifugio Pastore, Rifugio Oberto.

Rifugio Teodulo

Rifugio Pastore

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